On Feb. 12, the Nuggets president watched the New Jersey Nets host the New York Knicks, who played without injured all-star Amar’e Stoudemire. Kroenke was smitten.

“The ball was just moving — Bang! Bang! Bang! — Wilson Chandler was hitting 3s, (Danilo) Gallinari was pumped up, Raymond Felton was high-fiving everybody,” Kroenke said. “They were getting so excited for each other. And that’s a heck of a trait to have.

“I have a firm belief in the way basketball can be played. You’ve got to have talent, obviously. But the personalities have to match. Have to match.”

Nine nights later, the deal was done. Denver acquired those three rotation players in a megatrade involving Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and others. What happened next, of course, was a blissful 18-7 run with the new Nuggets, whose season ended with a first-round 4-1 playoff knockout by Oklahoma City.

Now, Kroenke and fellow Nuggets executive Masai Ujiri have major personnel decisions to make heading into the offseason. But the crux of any decision will be: How will it affect the chemistry of the Nuggets, whose personalities and performances blended together well in their season-ending run.

“If you have the right players and the right personalities,” Kroenke said, “it’s amazing what you can do as a group.”

At a recent lunch, Kroenke opened up about his passion and purpose as team president. He said the goal is simple: “We want to win a championship — hands down.”

Asked if he’d be willing to go over the luxury tax line, if it meant having a team he’s happy with, he said: “I think we’ve shown that, yeah. It’s a tough model to be over the luxury tax in the Denver market, but we’re not afraid to spend if we think we’re going to win.”

Kroenke also brought up the idea of “the disease of more,” which was coined by famed coach and executive Pat Riley.

When a team has success, Riley explained in his book “Showtime,” everyone on the team yearns for more success. But while players want more team success, they also want more individual success.

“But you can’t have both,” Kroenke said. “You get group success by sacrificing your individual success. I don’t know if that’ll ever creep in (with the Nuggets) — I think our personalities are all pretty selfless guys. I told them when they got here: ‘I just want you guys to play hard, have fun — but have your teammates’ back.’ That’s a winning mentality.”

Gallinari and Ty Lawson have arguably the two highest ceilings on the roster. Both are under contract for next season. As for signing free agents, Ujiri said, “The betting man would say we’re going to try to bring back as many guys as we can.”

Restricted free agent Arron Afflalo, who had a breakout season, said he wants to come back — and Ujiri said he wants Afflalo back. Chandler, a restricted free agent, had a roller-coaster experience with his new team, but he likely will be brought back. Also, look for Nene (who has a player option) and the Nuggets to lock down a three-year contract extension this summer. And unrestricted free agents J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin could return, though Smith has said he’s frustrated with coach George Karl and might want to go elsewhere, while Martin might be able to get more money, or years, on the open market.

As for the hottest debate among Nuggets faithful — what to do about Felton — it’s uncertain what management will decide. Not everybody loves Raymond, a point guard who had a couple of dud performances in the playoffs. But during the regular season, many around the Pepsi Center argued that he was Denver’s best Nugget over the final six weeks.

Karl often played Felton and fellow point guard Lawson together. It worked, more often than not. Numbers guru Wayne Winston determined that statistically Denver was never better than when both guys were on the court. The duo turned opponents’ sneakers into cowboy boots as defenders chased the little guys. And even when Felton had an off night against Oklahoma City in the playoffs, Karl still trusted him during key possessions late in the game.

“My hope is Raymond and (Ty) could stay together and kind of work the point guard position into a two-guard position,” Karl said. “When we play them together, I still think that is one of our most powerful weapons. It wasn’t as successful against OKC, but in those last few games, (but) it was really important to us. I still think that both of them are fantastic little guards, and I would like to have both of them back next year.”

Felton, however, is prideful. When he was with the Knicks, he was one Rajon Rondo away from making the Eastern Conference all-star team. With Denver, he comes off the bench. Felton dropped hints this spring that he wants to be a starter. To do that likely would require a trade.

The Nuggets surely will listen to offers for Felton. The 26-year-old is entering the final year of his contract and will make $7.5 million next season, compared with Lawson’s $1.6 million.

Asked what they do about Felton, Ujiri said, “I think with what we’ve done so far, there’s chemistry. Is that going to continue to next year? That’s something we’ll have to evaluate in the next couple of months. But Felton has had a great spirit here and has brought us leadership and a tough point guard mentality.

“Does Felton think he’s a starting point guard in the NBA? Yes, he does. Is Felton a starting point guard? Yes, he is. He has proved that. So we’ll figure it out.”

The Thunder thwacked the Nuggets in the playoffs, a sudden end to a fun ride. Karl suggested that experience is vital to having postseason success. He is convinced that a team without all-stars can still make a playoff run, similar to the 2004 champion Pistons — keeping in mind that Gallinari and Lawson could emerge as potential all-stars in years to come.

“We are very close to being as good or better than OKC,” Karl said of the division rival. “We have to wait a long time before we can prove that — it’s going to be a year before we even say that.”

Benjamin Hochman was a sports columnist for The Denver Post until August 2015 before leaving for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his hometown newspaper. Hochman previously worked for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for its Hurricane Katrina coverage. Hochman wrote the Katrina-themed book “Fourth and New Orleans,” published in 2007.